Opinion: Patience required in capital as new signings bed in

After a summer of upheaval in the nation’s capital, Eusebio Di Francesco is now tasked with integrating the side’s new signings into the first team in the weeks to come.

After some last-minute heroics from Edin Dzeko steered them through in their opener against Torino, Roma will be looking to get their summer arrivals firing on all cylinders as quickly as possible in order to be able to compete on all three fronts.

Despite this, the Giallorossi have seen in the past that - at times - it’s best to proceed with caution with new signings, and to blood them in gradually. After all, the Stadio Olimpico and its fervent atmosphere could be a lot to handle for newcomers and has gotten the better of many talented players over the years.

Take Dzeko. for example. After his move from Manchester City, the Bosnian international struggled to acclimate himself to his new surroundings and found it hard to find the back of the net in his first season, registering a mere eight goals in 31 appearances in the league.

Thrust into the limelight immediately and instructed to lead the line from day one, Dzeko felt the burden of the expectations early on and was prematurely labelled a flop. The following season, however, was a completely different story.

With a year of Serie A experience under his belt, Dzeko began scoring for fun and quickly redeemed himself. He would finish the 2016-17 season with 39 goals in all competitions - breaking club goalscoring records previously held by Francesco Totti and Rodolfo Volk in the process.

Today, the former Wolfsburg man couldn’t be more integral to Di Francesco’s plans and is proof that sometimes it’s best to have patience with new signings.

Determined to avoid making the same mistake as his predecessors, Di Francesco adopted a different approach with Cengiz Ünder. The Turkish international joined Roma with plenty of promise, yet was only limited to cameo appearances early on.

Given the opportunity - the time and space - to find his feet at his new club, Ünder thrived when he was eventually called upon.

After scoring his first goal for the club in a tight affair against Hellas Verona last February, Ünder would make his Champions League debut against Shakhtar Donetsk a few weeks later. The 21-year-old dazzled his Ukrainian counterparts and found the back of the net, becoming the youngest ever Turkish player to score in a Champions League clash.

Unlike Dzeko, Ünder was given time to adapt and he benefited from it immensely - going off on a scoring run that helped propel Roma's second half of the campaign.

While it’s only normal for fans to demand immediate results from their new men, it may be wise to exhibit restraint early on. Justin Kluivert - for example - has already demonstrated he can make a difference as an impact sub as seen through his mazy run and assist. That being said, the Roma faithful should still temper their expectations as the Dutchman - as talented as he is - still has ways to go before calling himself the finished product.

Bryan Cristante and Ante Coric - by contrast - will undoubtedly go a long way filling the void left behind by Radja Nainggolan, yet still need time to understand the intricacies of Di Francesco’s midfield three. After all, playing for Atalanta and Dinamo Zagreb is an entirely different prospect to donning Roma’s famous red and yellow strip.

In any case, the experience of Daniele De Rossi, among others, will be crucial in their development.

Despite the loss of a few key players this past summer, Roma are still well positioned to compete both in Italy and in Europe this coming season. Some patience may be required early on, but - as he showed last season - it’s only a matter of time before Di Francesco turns to his new arrivals with added responsibility and transforms his new-look Roma side into a well-oiled machine again.